While 83 percent of people born between 1928 and 1945 (dubbed “the Silent Generation”) were married by age 37, researchers predict that Gen Z - born between 1997 and 2012 - are marrying far less.
Eighty percent of Gen Z wants to get married at some point. Getting hitched is just no longer the nucleus of life. They see the historic problems within the institution and are ballsy enough the try and fix them—in their own way, of course.
An overview of Millennial and Gen Z dating statistics
75% of Gen Z are single. 44% of millennials are married.
Young adults' desire to marry has greatly dwindled over the years as factors like fear of commitment, inflation and high divorce rates have taken a toll on younger generations. A majority of millennials — those born from 1981 to 1996 — aren't tying the knot at the same rate as previous generations.
Even as the Baby Boomers continue to age, they divorce more than any other age group.
It is no surprise, then, that marital infidelity is a leading cause of divorce.
52.9% of single mothers are millennials.
The single parents demographics data shows the second-largest mothers age group being gen x (2,862,000), followed by gen z (601,000) and baby boomers (316,000).
Many members of Gen Z are still too young to get married, but this generation does appear to be on the same track. They aren't postponing marriage without reason. A study from The Knot found that most respondents aged 18 to 29 want to achieve financial independence before they get married.
Gen Zers aren't prioritizing romantic relationships — or if they're open to one, they want it to happen organically. A majority (52%) expect to meet their significant other in person instead of via mutual acquaintances (30%) or an app (6%), according to the Goldman Sachs intern survey.
Almost universal data now show that in most parts of the world, marriage rates are decreasing and the proportion of the population who has ever married is shrinking. Perhaps one of the best illustrations of this shifting tide lies in the raw number of marriages documented each year.
Generation Z (10-24 years old) represent 18 per cent of Australia and 30 per cent of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population.
According to a recent survey of over 1,000 members of generation Z, 27% don't want to have kids. When asked why they don't want to have kids, 89% of generation Z women said they enjoy the flexibility their lives have from not having children and 70% value their alone time.
Nearly half of Americans say that dating is harder than ten years ago. Some of the biggest reasons for this include increased risk, technology, and dating has become more impersonal. While dating has always presented challenges, dating, love, and relationships seem even more complicated.
In 2021, the median age for the first wedding among women in the United States stood at 28.6 years. For men, the median age was 30.6 years. The median age of Americans at their first wedding has been steadily increasing for both men and women since 1998.
New research has found US millennials are reluctantly staying single because they can't afford to date. According to the data, a third of generation Y are being priced out of the dating market as it doesn't fit into their budgets.
Child marriage is currently legal in 43 states (only Delaware, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island have set the minimum age at 18 and eliminated all exceptions), and 20 U.S. states do not require any minimum age for marriage, with a parental or judicial waiver.
Only 37% of Gen Z fell into the loyalist category, defined as those who bought a product from the same brand they were considering at the start of the shopping journey. This is quite different from the 56% of boomers who did so. We found a steady decline in loyalty with each generation.
“…in an instant, you are dating someone, they're your loyal partner and the “L” word is going to fall out of your mouth at any moment.
Research has shown that Gen Z's attitudes towards dating and sex have evolved from the generations before them; they take an especially pragmatic approach to love and sex, and subsequently aren't prioritising establishing committed romantic relationships the same way their older peers once did.
Gen Z's awareness and approach to mental health can have a positive influence on their parenting by allowing them to be emotionally healthy and drivers of open communication. It can also help shape a future generation that will understand, accept, and seek to treat their own mental health issues.
Only 44% of millennials are married, and millennials have continued a long-running trend of delaying marriage, with the median age of first marriage currently sitting at 30.4 for men and 28.6 for women.
Sawyer believes that many Millennials are hesitant to marry due to the threat of divorce. "Getting married is often perceived as a risk so Millennials tend to cohabitate and get financially stable before moving forward."
Seventy-three percent of Gen Z report feeling alone either sometimes or always—the highest level of any generation. The mental health challenges experienced by Gen Z are like nothing any other generation has faced.
The research, conducted in June through December 2020, focused on Gen Z parents (20-24 years-old).
Gen Xers would come to be known as one of the “least parented, least nurtured generations in U.S. history,” with parents divorcing at historic rates as both mom and dad worked in pursuit of an American Dream.